An Artist's Work
by Natsumiya Teirin
Summary: A bunch of oneshots centering around Ib and Mary. Some come from my imagination, and others will come from YOU, the READERS! So leave your ideas in either a PM or a review, and I'll get to them ASAP!
1. Chapter 1

**Rebirth**

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This is a collection of one shots centering around Ib/Eve and Mary. Some will be from my own imagination, and others will come from all of YOU, my dear, dear readers. Submit your ideas through either review or PM, and I'll have them up as soon as possible.

And now that that's out of the way…

I don't own Ib. Only saying it once. Because if I did own Ib, this wouldn't be on .

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The paintbrush felt right in her hands as Ib added on the first bit of color onto the canvas- a very pale yellow, for the background.

Ever since that incident at Guertena's exhibition, she'd been plagued with nightmares of a girl, burning, asking why she'd killed her. Asking what she did wrong. And it tore at her, until the burning blonde girl was all Ib could think about.

And then, just like that, she remembered.

She didn't remember all of it- she remembered that someone was with her, but she couldn't remember their name, or what they looked like.

But she remembered Mary, and she remembered that Mary was just a painting.

Just a painting.

A painting into which Weiss Guertena poured the very last bits of his soul into. A painting who'd only wanted to be with her.

A darker, purer yellow was added onto the canvas.

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Grinning, Ib stepped back and ran a hand across her brow. It had taken a lot of work- three weeks to get everything just right- but finally, it was done.

The innocent face of Mary smiled back at her, and for a moment, Ib thought it was genuine.

Exhausted, Ib slumped down against the wall beside the easel and closed her eyes.

"Good night, Mary…"

And in her sleep, she dreamed.

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"Ib-chan…you came back for me…"

Her gallery wasn't as large as Guertena's- and she wasn't sure if it would ever get anywhere close to that size- but it might've only seemed bigger because there weren't many paintings in it.

"Ne, Ib-chan…I'm lonely…won't you play with me?"

"Of course, Mary. What shall we play?"

"Hmm…how about…Tag!"

Something glinted in Mary's hand, and Ib didn't even have time to process how she'd even gotten hold of a palette knife before she found it in her chest.

"Heehee! You're "it", Ib-chan! And now, you won't be able to leave me alone again!"

And everything went black.

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There was red paint, and there was pain. Only a split second, but to her, it felt like ages.

Empty red eyes opened slowly, to be greeted by a cheerful electric blue.

"Ib! You're awake!"

"Ib"? Was that her name?

"You're still a little tired, huh…but that's okay! I'll help you wake up!"

And suddenly a set of cold lips pressed themselves against hers, and Ib felt wide awake.

Mary had indeed helped her wake up.

The blonde pulled away.

"Teehee! Awake now?"

Ib nodded.

"Good! Now we can play together! Heeheehee! Let's go!"

She helped Ib stand up, and showed her into the house she'd created for them.

"Ne, Ib?"

"Yes, Mary?"

"I heard that friends give each other kisses. And I was your first, right?"

"…Yes."

"Heehee! Then that means I'm your best friend! And that means you can't be friends with anyone else! Got it?"

"….Yes, Mary."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hit and Run**

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The year is 1925. With the "War To End All Wars" over, the city of Oekaki is lit up brighter than ever before.

Drug use is high, and the gang "Exhibit G" runs rampant across the streets.

And at the head of it all, was _her._

Mary Guertena was a force to be reckoned with, excelling in physical strength and all forms of manipulation.

Eve Kouri was a police officer, so naturally, she wanted to stop Mary from running amok.

And it was with this interest that Eve and her partner, Garry went out to the back streets, where Mary was known to visit often.

They weren't prepared- not at all- for what came next.

Shots were fired, and Garry ended up unconscious.

"Well, you _are_ cute, aren't you? Little miss officer~!"

Eve spun around, brown tresses flying, to face the owner of that voice.

Waves of blonde hair and a cherubic face, and blue eyes that shone with laughter.

But Eve had seen eyes like this before, and saw the deceit and treachery hidden in those blue pools.

No doubt this was Mary Guertena, the daughter of famed criminal Weiss Guertena and head of Exhibit G.

"Teehee! Hey, miss officer, your friend's dying pretty slowly over there, isn't he?"

From her perch on the wall of an alleyway, Mary jumped down and began sashaying towards Eve.

"I never like you silly officers. But I suppose…I _could_ save him."

Eve perked up from beside her partner.

Could she? _Would_ she? Or was this another of her games?

"I hate seeing cute girls cry." Mary mused, coming to a stop.

"So, I can help you. _If_ you go on a date with me."

Eve looked down at Garry, bleeding out heavily.

She knew the answer even before she turned her gaze away.

"Alright."

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Mary took Eve to a nearby café- not too cheap and not too fancy- and given her reputation, Eve honestly found herself surprised.

All around them were undercover members of Exhibit G- Eve recognized them from their files-and while she had half-expected them, Eve still felt unnerved by their presence.

Mary had assured her that Garry was in good hands, and coming from one of the wealthiest criminals in Oekaki, she hardly doubted that. But she still didn't know if Mary would stay true to her word or not, and as a result, she was incredibly tense.

"Order whatever you want, Eve- I have plenty of money."

She wasn't even going to ask how Mary knew her name, and settled on a plate of macarons.

Their food came- Mary ordered a slice of lemon cake- and there was a minute of awkward silence.

Unsurprisingly, Mary attempted to start a conversation.

"Hey, what's your favorite color? I love pink, red, yellow, and especially blue!"

The simplicity of the question took Eve by surprise, and it took her a minute to formulate a proper response.

"…Red. Blue, as well."

And at that, Mary smiled.

"We have so much in common! We could be sisters!"

Eve decided not to point out that just having similar tastes in color didn't make them anywhere close to siblings.

"Mm…what about your favorite flower?"

Again, it took Eve a minute to gather up her response.

"…Roses."

"Ooh! I love roses! Daisies, too!"

And that was how it continued until they were both shooed out of the café.

And so now, here they stood. Just two girls under a lone streetlight.

For a moment, the only sound was the chirping of the crickets in the bushes.

"…Hey, Eve? Let me walk you home."

The blonde's voice seemed to waver, just a little. Was she…scared of the dark? Or was there something else?

"…Okay."

The walk to Eve's shabby apartment was long and, unlike their little date, silent.

Mary stopped at the entrance to the apartment complex and grabbed Eve's wrist, forcing her to stop, too.

Moonlit red eyes gazed into fiery blue.

"Mary…"

"Eve. Please, just let me…"

Their noses grew closer, Mary consciously leaning closer to Eve.

Their lips touched, and Eve almost pulled away as the taste of cigarette smoke and lemon burned at her lips.

It was electrifying, and after they pulled away, Eve found herself wanting more.

She squashed that particular urge down.

"…I hope you had fun, Eve. I'll have Garry back with you in three days."

Oh, the girl looked ready to cry.

Mary turned away to return home, only to turn back around when she felt a gentle tug on her wrist.

"Mary…I…I want…"

A light kiss was pressed onto her cheek.

"Thank you, Mary. I had fun. Maybe we could go out together again some time soon."

And then she let go, and Mary returned home with a secret smile, and Eve entered her apartment with a small smile on her face.

Mary Guertena was the head of the most dangerous gang in Oekaki. But after tonight, Eve thought that maybe, just maybe, Mary wasn't really the coldhearted killer everyone had made her out to be.


	3. Chapter 3

.

.

.

The blue dolls hung, suspended from the ceiling by thin red threads.

In the distance, she could hear a music box playing some sort of circus tune.

The old merry-go-round was old and rusted, but somehow still worked, and if she'd seen it maybe an hour before- though who knew how time worked here?- she would've questioned it.

But an hour before, she was being chased by bloody clown statues and animatronic rabbits, and a maniac girl from a funhouse mirror, of all things. So seeing an old merry-go-round that somehow still spun, with blue dolls hanging from the roof of it, somehow didn't faze her at all.

And she still didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Childish laughter rung out behind her, but she didn't turn around.

"Ahaha! There you are Ib! I've been looking all over for you!"

Ib still didn't turn around. There was nowhere she could run where Mary couldn't find her. So if she was going to die here, she'd rather not see it coming.

A cold arm wound itself around her torso, and she shivered in spite of herself.

"Aww! Why so scared, Ib? I'm not gonna _kill_ you!"

 _Somehow, I doubt that…_

There was a sudden weight on her shoulders, and she found herself peering into blue eyes- eyes like the exaggerated blue on the side of the merry-go-round, that had somehow increased in speed.

Mary laughed again, her cold, sweet breath tickling Ib's cheeks.

"Hey, Ib…why don't you stay here with me? Forever? If you do, then…"

She trailed off, her head turning around at an angle that looked unbearably painful, and looked at the quickly spinning merry-go-round.

"….Come and help start the carnival, and stop the old merry-go-round, Ib. It revolves around me- my loneliness, fear, and sadness. Come and play with me, forever, and then things might make sense again…"

"But…in a world built around the idea of fantasy and nonsensical logic…how can things make sense?"

Mary turned back to face her, and Ib could hear her neck snap into place.

"….Stay."

And then she lost herself in those too-bright eyes, and cold lips were on hers, and then she was falling.

All thoughts- of escaping, of Garry, of his _murderer_ who was _kissing_ her- fled her as he knees collapsed, yet Mary didn't seem to notice.

A slow and steady cold engulfed her, but in the imaginary warmth of the kiss, Ib didn't notice. As her eyes closed and her skin grew pale, and her body went limp, Mary flipped so she was standing in front of her collapsed form.

Gently, as if Ib were her willing lover, Mary scooped the girl into her arms and held her close, a satisfied, loving smile playing at her pink, lifeless lips.

The merry-go-round stopped spinning and, with an ominous creak, collapsed inwards on itself.

She was no longer lonely, and she doubted she ever would be again. Because Ib was hers, and she certainly wouldn't leave anytime soon.


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